The Difference
by alohaLove
Summary: It's the eighth week that Sonny and Chad have been dating. They've grown closer and closer to each other and Chad tries to get up the strength to say those three little words. But what happens when Sonny has a different view of things?


The Difference between "Loves" and "In Love"

It was the eighth week that Sonny and Chad had been together. They shared their first kiss in the second week of being together. After that, Chad loved her so much he introduced her to his parents in the third week. Most guys never introduce the girl to their parents until they are on their first year or something. But Chad loved her. In the fifth week, Sonny practically lived at the Coopers; they were always together. Both of their parents were already talking marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper and Ms. Munroe all accepted their child's partner. They accepted them so much, they would be able to sleepover each others houses by the seventh week.

But those weeks didn't matter. It's what was going to happen this eighth week that did. Chad Dylan Cooper was ready to say those three little words to Sonny Munroe. "I Love You."

So, preparing to say it, Chad would stick by her side every day trying to see any hint of her feelings being mutual.

Like in the commissary

"Aww, thank you Chad. I love it when you get me steak, but I would love it more if you got it for my cast," Sonny said as Chad pulled out her chair for her to sit. _Love, does she just love the steak, or me; for getting her steak? _Chad's head was spinning, his thoughts were rambled, and his palms were sweating.

"Right, I'll just go tell Brenda to include them in the usual Mackenzie Falls menu," he said, still thinking about her last remark. _What does she mean? Does she love me or the steak? Which is it?_ And of course, Sonny is thinking about what a great boyfriend she has and what great food her cast would soon get. Chad got up and walked over to Brenda to tell her his new request. When he finished, he went back to his and Sonny's table and saw Nico and Grady talking with Sonny.

"Great sketch Sonny. Thanks for making us wear the cheese pants, I've been looking for a reason to wear them for months!" Nico mentioned to Sonny who wore an even huger smile, which was physically impossible.

"No problem. You guys were great; hysterical. I loved it," Chad thought about that word again; _love. Does she love them? No, no, their just her cast mates. Why does she use love so much? That is not a word you just throw around like, like… LIKE! You can say "like" to anyone. But "love"?_

"Chad?" He snapped out of his head and saw a perfectly manicured hand waving in front of his face. _Tawni_, Chad thought.

"Where's Sonny?" Chad looked around him wondering where she could be.

"She left. She told me to tell you that you were kind of out of it for about an hour until she decided to just leave you alone for a while. She figured you had a tiring day or something. Ooh, by the way, LOVE the steak," Tawni emphasized "love" more than Chad could register.

"Right; love the steak? Great, I'm gonna find Sonny," he said and walked out the door.

And at the Cooper residence

Sonny enjoyed playing with Chad's younger cousins, Dani and Cole; they were about five and seven years old. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper loved having her over to keep the kids busy while they cook and get showered and everything. Sonny is a catch with the kids.

At around five, Chad took Sonny to his house to hang out. It was pretty much a daily routine. Sonny didn't mind, she never had to take her car to work. Chad was like her own personal chauffer. As they watched Edge of Darkness for the billionth time, Dani and Cole came to the house and ran up to them, sitting between the couple and splitting them up.

"Hey, guys, wouldn't you rather sit on the couch instead of this loveseat that Sonny and I were sitting on?" Chad wore a smile, hoping they would move. Instead, they just leaned back.

"Nah, why would we do that?" Cole asked, genuinely confused. They obviously didn't take the hint.

"Guys, let's play a game or something. This movie is not really meant for you guys. It's not worth your time," Sonny said, saving Chad and herself from the claustrophobic space as they all got up and sat on the floor. "Ooh, we can bake some cookies, would you guys like that?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah!" Dani and Cole abruptly stood up and raced for the kitchen. They were already taking out the ingredients, Sonny and Chad hadn't even started walking toward the kitchen.

"You don't have to hang out with them. They will fall asleep if their just left alone," Chad whispered as they walked.

"It's honestly no problem. I love them. I _want_ to hang out with them. Did you guys get everything out?" Sonny said louder going ahead to Dani's side.

_There it is again. Love. She loves my blood. She hasn't said it to me. But she's said it to my own flesh and blood. Wow_, Chad thought.

The next day

Today was the day Chad Dylan Cooper was going to tell his girlfriend he loved her. _It was important and it should be told in a special way, but how? Does she want me to be all dressed up and romantic with a candlelit dinner, or casual and a total surprise out of the blue? Or maybe she didn't want to hear it at all. Maybe she's been saying "love" a lot to drop a hint; like she wants me to say it…maybe or maybe not?_ These thoughts were going through his head the whole day. He had no idea what he should do or how he should do it. But he only had so much time off of set to spend with Sonny and he wanted to tell her today because he knew he wouldn't have the guts to tomorrow or the next day.

So once the director yelled, "Cut, time for your lunch break," he immediately speed walked to the So Random! set. Sonny got off for her lunch break just in time and saw him advancing toward her. _Why is he in such a hurry?_ She thought and smiled worriedly at him.

Once he reached her, he held her shoulders with his hands and searched her face for something; happy, sad, love?

"What's up?" she asked.

"What do you love?" he asked out of nowhere. She had a feeling she knew what he was getting at. She too had been thinking about it for some time.

"I love So Random! I love my guitar. I love my friends. I totally love my mom. Why?" she replied listing everything off her fingers.

"Sonny, I've been wanting to tell you for the longest time," he took her petite hands in his and continued, "I'm just gonna go ahead and say it before I rant on about how beautiful you are and how kind you are and how much your show would suck without you…and the rant has started. Anyways, I love you. But I got it, you don't love me. You love So Random! You love your guitar and your friends and your mom, but not me. It's okay," he said slightly disappointed that she didn't return his feelings, yet relieved he got it out of his system.

He was still holding onto her hands when she pulled him closer, "I didn't say 'I love you' because that would be a lie. I'm_ in_ love with you silly. There's a difference," the space between them practically disappeared and now Sonny was forced to look up to a grinning Chad.

"What is the difference milady?" he asked looking down to his girlfriend.

"I can say 'I love you' to anyone or anything. But being in love with someone is way different. Being in love means you have someone that makes your heart beat five times faster than it usually does. It means you never want the butterflies to go away. It means you have to hold your breath when you're waiting for them to respond to you. It means you want to always be with that person. It means standing here with you, the best boyfriend I've ever had," and with that she kissed him, laughing when she felt his smile on her lips.

"Well then, I need to take back my 'I love you', and replace it with I, Chad Dylan Cooper, am crazy in love with the most adorable, funniest, lowest maintenance yet still amazingly gorgeous girl in the whole world, Sonny Munroe." And Chad couldn't help but feel his heart beat faster and faster, the butterflies multiply so they would never go away, his breath getting hitched in his throat as he saw Sonny's smile grow a mile wide, and he knew from that moment on, this was the girl he always wanted to be with. And he wouldn't change a thing.


End file.
